El Paso Independent School District board President Isela Castanon-Williams speaks Wednesday at a news conference at the district's offices. "Dr. (Lorenzo) Garcia submitted his letter of resignation because he felt he needed to focus on hiss defense and allow the district to move forward, so the board voted to accept his resignation," she said.

The El Paso Independent School District will officially part ways with Superintendent Lorenzo García at the end of this month, but not before paying him a large sum of money.

García, 56, who is facing federal charges of fraud, has already received nearly $91,000 in compensation since being placed on unpaid administrative leave three months ago. That figure will rise to about $117,000 by the time his official resignation takes effect on Nov. 30.

He will also get more than $177,000 after the district pays him for the 150 days of vacation, sick and personal business leave he has accrued during his five-year term as superintendent. García will receive an additional payment of $12,500 in lieu of the district's retention incentive contribution to an annual annuity in 2011.

"There is no severance pay," board President Isela Castañon-Williams said during a news conference Wednesday. She added that the district is primarily paying off leave that García had earned before departing.

Parting ways

García, who was placed on unpaid administrative leave on Aug. 4 after a unanimous vote of the school board, submitted his resignation letter on Friday. The school board accepted his resignation during a meeting late Tuesday night.

"I have and continue to assert my innocence, and my resignation should not be perceived as an admission of guilt," García said in the letter. He said he was resigning "in order to concentrate on my defense and allow the district to move forward without further distractions.

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The FBI charges that García steered a $450,000 no-bid contract to Tracy Rose, a woman with whom he had a personal relationship, and her company Infinity ResourcesÉ& Associates. The indictment also says that García had a personal financial interest in the company.

García has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of mail fraud and one count of aiding and abetting theft from programs receiving federal funds.

Board members and officials with the El Paso Independent School District called García's resignation the "right thing" to do.

"This has been a traumatic experience for the district and the community," Castañon-Williams said. "At this point, we will move forward and contemplate what our next step is. We are going to look at the steps that we can take to go ahead and make sure that this situation does not happen again."

Board trustee and vice president David Dodge said García's decision to leave the EPISD was "the right thing and it is certainly good for the district."

Interim Superintendent Terri Jordan will remain at the helm of the district until officials decide whether to give her the job permanently or select a new leader through a superintendent search. Castañon-Williams estimates that such a search would cost the district about $100,000.Ê

By the numbers

García, who earned an annual base salary of $280,314, continued to receive money from the district during his unpaid leave for accrued vacation and sick time. He also received a $10,000 performance bonus and allowances for his cellphone, travel, health care and retirement.

"The district has the opportunity to move on," said Lucy Clarke, president of the El Paso Federation of Teachers and Support Personnel. "There has been negative reaction from both the community and district employees about the pay he received while on administrative leave."

García has received nearly $91,000 in compensation since being placed on unpaid administrative leave three months ago, according to documents obtained by the El Paso Times through the state's Public Information Act. He will receive an additional sum of about $26,000 by Nov. 30 when he severs his relationship with the district.

García has generally received $13,190 twice a month while on leave.

Most of that compensation is superintendent gross pay of about $11,680 for leave time he accumulated. District officials said Nov. 30 will be the end of his twice-a-month allowances of $747 for the Teacher Retirement System, $187 for health care, $500 for his cellphone and $76 for income protection.

District payment records show that García received a $1,000 travel allowance on Aug. 15. Officials said that payment was for the pay period that ended July 30, which was before García was arrested for alleged wrongdoing.

The week after García was put on leave by the school district, he received a $10,000 performance pay bonus. According to his contract, García could get performance bonuses for meeting certain goals on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test and on other state and federal performance measures.

District officials said he received $5,000 because EPISD schools met state standards for accountability and another $5,000 for attaining or exceeding 94 percent on the Social Studies part of the state's standardized test.

Zahira Torres may be reached at ztorres@elpasotimes.com; 512-479-6606.